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Summer Visit - 2013 - SHIPs

The summer visit to Caltech is 3-4 days long and is the only time during the year of work when all the participants on the team come together in person to work intensively on the data. Generally, each educator may bring up to two students to the summer visit that are paid for by NITARP, and they may raise funds to bring two more. The teams work at Caltech; the summer visit typically includes a half-day tour of JPL, which is a favorite site for group photos. Reload to see a different set of quotes.

The SHIPs team came to visit in June 2013. The core team educators attended, plus 9 students.

Quotes

  • [student:] The best aspect of the trip was working with such a group of amazing people. The opportunity I had to work with real members of the scientific community was priceless. I firmly believe that this experience has changed my life and provided me with an experience I will never forget.
  • The best thing about the trip was simply being on the campus at Caltech as an active participant in a science project. I still feel honored to be able to participate in this program. On top of that, to be able to extend the tendrils of my own learning to a few of my students only adds to the satisfaction I derive in being a teacher.
  • I was surprised with the speed with which my students increased their proficiency with the tools we are using -- especially Python programming! My students acted very independently and hardly ever needed me to suggest something for them to do next; many times they were already anticipating the next tasks and trying to figure out how to do it!
  • [student:] I always thought that astronomers just look into the sky with microscopes and make observations, but they do so much more than that. They are able to use tools to make further observations and do research. It's not easy being an astronomer and I have so much respect for what they do.
  • [student:] It is an incredible feeling to be performing revolutionary science and developing new found conclusions, over the traditional student experience of replicating experiments performed by Galileo or Newton. This experience will continue to benefit not only my vocational aspirations, but scientists to come.

Related Teams

Summer Visit - 2013 - SHIPs